Morning Roundup (Isringhausen, McCarthy, Wainwright and more)

Here is some news and notes to kick off the morning for everyone:

Jason Isringhausen has a “torn flexor muscle near his right elbow”, according to Joe Strauss of The St. Louis Post-Dispatch (click here for the article). Definitely not good news, especially since Strauss says the injury could end his career. If you were holding out hope of him returning to the closer’s role this season it obviously is time to move on.

In a separate article (click here), Strauss says that “Adam Wainwright insisted Tuesday he is ready to pitch”. The word had been that Chris Carpenter’s status would influence the role Wainwright would be used, with Carpenter throwing yesterday and saying that “he experienced no residual pain”. With the injury to Isringhausen, though, it will be interesting to see if the club’s plans for Wainwright change again. He is obviously close to a return, but we’ll just have to continue to wait and see if it is a starter or reliever.

On the heels of this morning’s article about Brandon McCarthy, we have a little bit more news about his return. Brandon George of The Dallas Morning News (click here for the post) says “About two weeks ago, however, he worked out in Arlington with team president Nolan Ryan, pitching coach Andy Hawkins and bullpen coach Jim Colborn. He said he made two primary adjustments: He brought his hands over his head at the beginning of his windup to help with balance and started using his lower body more”. These changes came prior to his last two starts, so maybe this has to do with his resurgence. This only hammers home my point from this morning even more, he is worth the gamble, as long as he sits on your bench.

In another post (click here), George is reporting that Milton Bradley left last night’s Rangers game with “left knee soreness”. It seems like it is almost a daily issue with him, so just slot him to your bench until he proves he is healthy and can return to the line-up.

Chris Iannetta missed yesterday’s Rockies game due to a “bruised left foot” according to Troy Renck of The Denver Post (click here for the post). It doesn’t seem major at all.

Renck also updates us on Yorvit Torrealba, who is playing with a “torn meniscus in his left knee”. He was able to play the entire game yesterday, which is good news. Still, once Iannetta can return to the line-up, Torrealba won’t have much value at all.

According to Henry Schulman of The San Francisco Chronicle (click here for the post) “an MRI on Jonathan Sanchez’s left shoulder revealed a mild rotator cuff strain and a tight shoulder capsule”. It is not thought to be a serious injury, but I would keep him on your bench until further notice.

Sussan Slusser of The San Francisco Chronicle (click here for the post) has updated the condition of Justin Duchscherer. She says that his x-ray “did not show anything that would be of concern”. He will have an MRI today, so we should have more news in the next day or two. Move him to your bench until further notice.

Justin Upton has “no pain from the oblique muscle he strained” but it is unknown when he could return, according to Kyle Odegard of The East Valley Tribune (click here for the article). Just leave him on your bench until he not only returns to the majors, but is getting everyday AB’s. With Adam Dunn now in the fold, it will be interesting to see how the team manipulates the line-up and it certainly is possibly that Upton returns and is not an everyday factor.

Tony Jackson of The Los Angeles Daily News (click here for the post) is reporting that Eric Stults has been sent to Triple A to clear roster space for Greg Maddux. No real fantasy loss.

According to Harlan Chico of The Washington Post (click here for the post), the Nationals have demoted Kory Casto to Triple A, making room for Anderson Hernandez to join the roster. Neither players has fantasy appeal.